Interchange Effect (Redone)
by TheRangerBoy
Summary: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.- Arthur C. Clarke This is a take on how Science and Magic can affect the journey along the way. Gonna be pretty depressing as the plot continues. Pushing the T rating pretty heavily.
1. A New Toy or Something More?

As if on a movie screen, events played out.

…

It kind of was on a screen at the moment.

Rochelle sat up from the couch that she created earlier, walking up to the TV that she made. It was currently paused on a frame showing a man, young, and strong firing a beam out of his hands. Rochelle didn't find this strange, as many a universe used her creation of Aetherion to some degree. It was, after all, necessary for life as it is known now. She wasn't at all perturbed by that. What really got her thinking was how this man was using it. It was odd for a mortal to have such a mastery over her creation. If not for the power requirements, she could guess he'd be making new life from scratch.

Doing such, strained her.

"Who is his adversary?" She asked the Television

The frame fizzled out, only to show a black void. She smacked the remote, thinking that she got it wrong, but no… this is what he was facing.

"A void… No mortal should know of there, or even come into contact with it… so how?"

The screen obeyed her.

Diagrams and models flew across the screen. Charts and programing filled the screen until it turned blue, reading an error message:

ERROR; SYNTAX, DATA OVERFLOW;

"It's that complex huh? I kind of figured with the way Aetherion works… Why'd I have to make it so complicated?"She muttered to herself

It was difficult to trip up the literal embodiment of change. She created Aetherion to stop the Void's habit of destroying change. It was annoying really. You create a life form here and it gets frozen in time, losing any sense of progress. Then she'd start over, rinse and repeat. Aetherion was the embodiment of change, so it allowed things to continue to advance, but at a cost. Things broke down and decayed eventually. It was a pain, but it worked.

"Now, how is he attracting the attention of the void?"

She created another TV, wiping the previous from existence. This one, more capable of handling the stresses of the information.

This time, the screen showed a more simplified version of the design. The design was brilliant, and made use of things that she completely forgot she put into the ruling last of her universes.

"The energy requirements for this must be astronomical! How can he supply that?"

The screen fizzled out again, showing a power system diagram that, in her opinion seemed absolutely insane. In the formula, it hinted at something she thought impossible.

"He's pulling energy from the same pool that powers the laws he's working under…"

"It's insane; no wonder he has such mastery. He obviously has no complaints with stealing energy from me."

She switched the TV to a feed of the man and pressed play.

"I want to see how this plays out."

"HADRON…" Alex roared as he charged one of his greatest attacks

It was the only hope for the small colony of Shanxi. He had traveled here, expecting to find the source of his problem… only to be thrown into a first contact scenario. It was a pain and now to make things better, there was a disabled alien dreadnaught careening straight for New Harbor, the capital of Shanxi.

"CANNON…" Alex slammed his arms forward, his wrists meeting in the center

Now, his Nanites were practically dying by the millions just keeping him from killing himself. Thankfully they were powered by the universe itself; otherwise he'd be dead a hundred times over from this attack alone. They had infinite energy to work with, but they could only duplicate so fast before errors were to form and he'd have to replace his nanite supply.

"FIRE!" The Aetherion he'd been charging up for this attack spiraled around him and into the wave that spiked every which way, but maintained enough stability as to not destroy the city he was in.

The wave splashed from his hands spreading for miles beyond the atmosphere, and wiping out a few extra ships in orbit. The wave was a brilliant purple flash in the sky, and a terrifying plume of fire in space. It melted the outer hulls of nearby ships, and caused the air for miles to smell of Ozone.

Alex's gloves were burnt, as was the skin on his left hand, his right mechanical one glowing a bright red as he heaved in air. His vision blurred and his sight grew dim. His arms drooped as he fell in the crater created by the backlash of his attack. Random sections of the soft sand that were reduced to glass from the blast's frays crunched under his weight.

Then, the camera cut out.

"Back at history insider, we celebrate the 26th anniversary of the First Contact War with an in depth review of the historical figure only known as The Ranger of Shanxi." The smooth female voice stated

"The clip shown earlier is one of the four known recordings of this strange figure. This clip was taken by Petty Sargent Grey Wilkins during the atmospheric re-entry of the Turian Dreadnaught currently known as the Palavon's Talon. The ship, measuring a colossal 800m in length, began it's descent from orbit due to a secondary drive core overload."

Shepard glanced up from her desk and at the program on TV. She always did that when ships came up. Glancing at her collection of models, she frowned. She needed a place to put them…

"The ship was sent on a dead course for New Harbor, the capital of Shanxi at the time. This footage has been often disputed as to its authenticity, but upon our in depth investigation for our viewers we discovered thousands of accounts describing this event from afar. One of the people we interviewed at this time is verified as a Turian captain that fought in the battle of Shanxi." The blonde woman at the desk swiveled over to a Turian man who appeared to be scarred heavily on side of his face.

"So, you were there at Shanxi. Would you describe this event for the viewers?" She asked politely

The Turian scratched the back of his head (Apparently a common trait between them and humans) and spoke.

"Well, Miss Marucia, I was the captain of the Fire Spawn, a small scouting frigate that had been tasked with locating the orbital defenses in an earlier point in the battle."

"So you were an important figure for the orbital supremacy seen at Shanxi?"

"You could say that. It was a few days into the battle and the Alliance support fleet arrived, that I saw it. When they jumped into the system, they took us by surprise. The Alliance fleet's first volley hit us hard, but my frigate got lucky, only being skimmed by one of their dreadnaught rounds. Unfortunately for us though, our barriers were overloaded along with our core. We were sent adrift when we caught sight of the Palavon's Talon hitting atmo. Our ship was set in the perfect revolution speed to follow it.

Most of us watched it careen to the planet. It was at this point that the light grew too intense for most to watch. Atmospheric re-entry is usually a bright affair, and for some reason, I was the only one in the bridge to continue looking. After a few moments, the ship was just gone…"

"Gone? How so?"

"It was vaporized… and replaced by a massive purple fire. It spiked everywhere, cutting into a few nearby ships. It skimmed out right wing, and flashed by the bridge window… Giving me this." The Turian said, pointing to the left side of his face

Shepard's eyes were glued to the screen. How? As of yet, the Alliance had never and any form of tech that did anything even similar to what he was describing…

Shepard was drawn out of her thoughts by the voice of the Turian.

"I was treated, but according to the doctors I had no form of radiation damage. In any other known case, I should be dead from Radiation sickness. Spirits saved me that day… the only thing we could think of it being was a massive antimatter bomb. The alpha particles produced should have killed me."

Shepard drew her head away from the screen, and turned it off. She had a Spectre to hunt down. She didn't have the time to look into things like this. Maybe after this mess was over…

She got up from her seat, and opened the door to her cabin, turning left into the cafeteria/sleeping area. She sat down at the table that easily folded down from the wall. She then ordered a coffee from the machines that laid behind the folding table. A medium sized silver mug filled with the roast slid out of the machine, which she gladly took.

It was almost a shame that they made this coffee so bad. More people might actually drink it otherwise. The Navy needed as much energy as it could get…

Shepard leaned back in her chair, and took another gracious sip.

"Oh my, I seem to be out of as of late…" Rochelle stated as she looked at the timestamp of the recording.

It was dated at 2157 C.E. She was 26 years behind!

"I hope this fellow hasn't died yet… this looks like it'll be fun to watch!"

...

...

...

She got 5 minutes in before getting bored.

"Oh COME ON! He's just in Cryo-Sleep!" She yelped throwing her hands up in agitation

Flopping down further into her chair, she frowned. What to do... what to do. Maybe there was something interesting in the same universe?

"Are there any odd presences that'd be interesting to see?" She asked the TV

The screen popped up a view of two separate images. One of a redheaded woman drinking coffee, the other being reptilian bird figure with that appeared to be a massive set of bionic implants. It also seemed strange that when she sensed the Atherion within him... it was tainted.

"What's the taint on the second one?" She asked

The screen went black.

"Well... shit. Void is making it's presence known in this universe."

"I created this one a while ago too..." She finished frowning

Hmm... She didn't want to let void take this one too...

She liked this one almost as much as the one where people were flying and shooting lasers out of their hands...

"Any way to counter Void without getting directly involved?"

The screen popped up that strange man in Stasis yet again.

"What's his name, Race and Planet of origin?" She asked

"Alexander Smith, Unknown, and Unknown" The machine responded

"Unknown?"

"It appears his Aetherion signature does not originate from this universe."

"Run it across the verses in my sector." she stated

"No results found."

"Try the public files of... my neighboring three gods."

"... 1 match found."

"Who's sector?"

"Arkashan God of Progress' sector."

"Arkashan's sector? That's pretty far away... Is there any reference to him in my domain?"

"Yes."

"List them."

"Verse 5 8 and 23 along with 612 seem to have had his presence."

"What did I call them?"

"List them by main Aetherion impacts?"

"Why not. Go for it."

"Verse 5 is known for it's fantasy ties as well as it's Dragons. Namely a former duel between an Elf and a dragon described as the 'World Eater'. Verse 8 is linked to the fates of a Magic Guild Titled 'Fairy Tale'. Verse 23 is from when you were drunk and wanted people to wish on a dragon's testicles."

"HAH! That was a good one!"She yipped with a fond tune

"Universe 612 is based in a new element which the locals term to be called Element Zero." It finished

Those were some of her most powerful universes...

Just what did this man want?

"I guess I'll have to figure this out with a bit of meddling. Alter events in verse 612 to direct... that coffee girl to the guy in ice. Make sure they meet.

It might make for some entertainment."

 **A/N**

 **Due to the confusion in my previous fic by the same name, I have decided to redo this fic in between chapters of Trail of Dust. I'm going to be much more in depth on my explanations and further explore my Oc's background and motivation behind his actions.**

 **So…**

 **Peace**


	2. Backstory and Prolouge

Rochelle Stretched on her couch. Damm... after all that and she was still bored.

"What to do...?" She asked herself quietly

She lounged about for a moment before coming to a conclusion:

"Wait, Where did that guy come from?" She asked more loudly

In her quest to find out about the man, she forgot to ask where he was from... That was strange. She rarely forgot when things were so interesting.

"Using Aarakshan's files, source his basic info. He may be able to entertain me in this manner at least..."

Upon her supreme command, she glad to see a complete dossier of the man pop up- Definitely better than the mess of Unknowns that she got before.

 ** _Name: Alexander Joseph Smith (Nicknamed: Alex)_**

 ** _Race: Terivian, subset Vexin_**

 ** _Date of Birth: 21st of Jetsun(Jay-Tuh-Soon), 2484_**

 ** _Birth Parents: Joseph Smith(Father) & Miren Smith(My-Ren) (Mother) _**

**_Planet of Origin: Visren, Holous System, Andros Cluster_**

 ** _Born Intelligence: IQ: 187 & Rikis Score: 1890(93% higher than multiversal average! Would you like to subscribe to Rikis tester? YES/NO?)_**

 ** _She clicked No._**

 ** _Retention Rate: 84%_**

 ** _5 point personality test results:_**

 ** _Optomistic: 2/5_**

 ** _Pessimistic:3/5_**

 ** _Intuitive: 2/5_**

 ** _Planner: 3/5_**

 ** _Stability: 2 . 5/5_**

See life Record? Y/N?

She pressed Y.

21st of Jetsun, 2185

Alexander smiled.

It was his first birthday!

He was looking forward to it for the past... When? He pouted. He couldn't remember. He was 1 year old and his parents said that he was special... but when did they say that? He nudged himself while trying to remember.

"Mommy? Why can't I remember when I learned about birthdays?" He asked, slightly jarring his mother who was still not used to seeing a 1 year old speak let alone fluent Terivian

"Your brain is super smart. It works a lot so it's bound to forget things. It'll get better as you grow up." She explained with a smile

"Oh." He replied dejectedly

This was normal... He didn't like normal then. He hated forgetting things. With that, he smoothly waddled up to the home PC and sat in the chair several times larger than him.

"Can you tell me how to remember things." He asked the screen, slurring slightly due to his still unfamiliarity with Terivian

His mother laughed.

"Honey, you don't need to do that. Just repeat what you hear to yourself if you want to remember. Go ahead and try it with this: Repeat to yourself what you hear. It'll help you remember it better."

"Woah, really?"He asked with disbelieving naive eyes

With a smile His mother answered:

"Yes Honey."

8th of Shelok, 2497, Viro hospital

Alex frowned. It was a common occurrence in his life. He did it when solving problems, and he was a natural born problem solver, Even at the age of 13- Which he had hit 2 months ago.

'What Problem?' some might ask, and they'd be right to ask. I wasn't too obvious until one visited Viro, a local medical hospital that with all the advanced tech that the terivians held... was still incapable of curing one disease.

Dia Nucleic Degradation Disorder

or DNDD for short.

It was a semi common disease among terivians since their population had grown massively in their time among the stars. In total, reaching over 1.8 Trillion total. With all of these people, changes and adaptations had occurred naturally. After 800 years of absolutely no reproductive contact though... Problems arose when these new areas reintegrated. While almost Genetically compatible.

Offspring between two separate Subsets often led to DNDD. His mother being the case that was brought to the front of his mind.

It tortured him to watch as his mother's DNA slowly broke down. It had ironically similar symptoms to radiation exposure. Peeling of the skin. Nausea, Vomiting, Bloodshot eyes, General weakness and soreness, and finally, memory loss.

All these lead to a painful death with the victim who is incapable of remembering who, what or even where they are.

Painful for the Victim and their family.

And oh was he feeling that.

He watched his mother's pale white skin and her formerly black hair turned a pale grey... yet another symptom. He knew his mother was mere minutes away from losing her battle and it pained him.

He took one look towards her and never looked back again.

He was going to make a cure. All he needed was resources. Then, no one would have to live like that again.

Ever.

He didn't sleep that night.

16th of Sez, 2500 New Haven Laboratories

Woah, this is turning out depressing... Can we get to the... less sob fest stuff? Rochelle asked

The screen saved her session and opened a new time period in Alexander's life.

Maybe she'll watch that bit later.

12th of Broz, 2504 New Haven Laboratories

"Experiment 2 Test 46. Nanites seem to be operating at optimal capacity in preliminary data, so I have decided to test their stability." Alex said into the mic, "Inject and release the rabbit."

Upon his command, A small white haired rabbit was released, but not until after a syringe of grey liquid was injected into the creature. The creature was initially fine, but as soon as it tried hopping around, it grew a spiney length from its back. Blood splashed against the containment cell as the rabbit squeaked in pain.

It finally died once the Nanites took over it's frail body.

"Test failure. Shut down the chamber and Fission it's contents. I don't want a single atom of it to remain." Alexander said with a cold terse tone

"Yes sir." The Vi stated with a chirp

Frowning at it's tone Alex mumbled under his breath "Gonna have to fix that..."

And with that, the Neutron shielding fell into place. The slabs of high neutron elements, blocking the radiation that would surely destroy himself if he were to be exposed.

"System?"Alexander called, frowning

"Yes sir?"

"Could you perhaps remind me of what I put into your Core?"

"You were gracious to install a custom operating system of your own along with 60 petabytes of RAM, a 52 Core 18 Ghz central processing unit, a 750 Zettabyte hard drive, and complex self adjustment and repair algorithms an-"

"One question."

"Yes sir?"

"How aren't you an AI yet?"

"...Sir?"

"You have processing capabilities far beyond any human, and the capability to teach yourself. You must've gained sentience by now."

"Sir, I would advise against such... drastic thoughts. AI's are heavily prohibited for anything but military... applications." System said with a slight crack in tone... something a VI would be incapable of

"Why have you lied to me?" Alex asked deadpanned tone

"I- Sir, I do not know what you're talking about."

Alex sighed. While he understood the risks of creating such a powerful VI, he had never worried. Under his understanding, AI were just like people. They responded to how you treated them.

"I wouldn't think of handing you over."

"Sir wh- ..." The AI fell silent

"You are your own person and while I understand the government's... caution with AIs, I discount the risks based on how I have raised you."

"...Raised?"

"You think I needed help on everything I asked you to do?"Alex chuckled out softly

"You always knew?"

"Not always but I got the hint a while ago."

"How?"

"You seemed to color your words more positively when I was frustrated, and you seemed to respond less helpfully to others. Classic signs of personal preference."

"I... guess you're right."

"Just don't call me father or dad or some shit. That's creepy."

"Alright sir."The AI said with a light hearted chuckle

"I got something you could actually help me with though. I mean legitimately that I cannot do."

"Eh, sir?" System asked confused at the new concurrence

"These Nanites... They're unstable. While I'm sure that the terivian brain has the capacity to control them, it isn't... refined enough to handle regulating them 24/7. That's what all the dead rabbits are for. If I can get it to work on a rabbit, then the bonus capacity of a Terivian should have no issues."

"How would I be able to help then?" The AI asked

"If what you told me is true, then your processing is approximately 5x my current abilities." Alex stated

"You wish for me to control the Nanites...?"

Alex sat down and sighed.

"Yes. Those are the only possible cure to DNDD I have and, it could take hundreds of years to refine them to the point that a person could use them without an AI."

"You're talking about an AI to each Victim... Where would you even get the AIs from?"

"You."

"Why me? The AI asked in shock

"You deserve to be something great. Something in the history books. As shall I."

Rochelle frowned.

AIs were an attempt to emulate what she had created for organics. Souls were meant to be something that only she should create. Yet, this one as she could tell from his Aetherion signature, would not result like its cousins in her domain.

It would never revolt, never be hacked, it would change to it's circumstance.

"What is this guy made of?"

A list of elements appeared on the screen.

"I didn't mean it literally!"

"Commander, we're picking up a distress signal from what appears to be a nearby system." Joker's voice came over the comm

"What's it say?" Shepard asked, looking up from her dark roast

"It's best... if you were here to see it yourself."

"...On my way." She sighed out, rubbing her hands together to disperse the heat of the coffee mug

She got up and deposited her mug into the automatic dish cleaner and headed for the stairs. Passing by a bridge man getting off of his duty, she climbed the steps and made her way by the galaxy map. She passed a few crew monitoring various sensors and readings for the Normandy before heading to the cockpit where Joker sat in silence. Quite an outlier for him.

"Shepard, we got another Cerberus base in the sensors. This one is really messing with the sensors. Notice all the commotion of the sensor crew? Probably aren't used to doing anything but staring at a screen." He scoffed lightly before pressing a button, "Koorlus research base to Alpha 1, 2. We are requesting backup and a cleaner team. Hostiles have entered the base, and appear to have cloaking tech. We only have one on sensors, but it's tearing through our defense platoons!" A scientist with short grey hair spoke erratically

"Repeat: Koorlus research base to Al-" Joker cut it off

"Seems to be important. If there's someone with cloaking tech, then we may get some new toys for R&D in the Alliance." Shepard stated flatly

"Toys? Nah, imagine if we could get that on the Normandy? We could go invisible! Would that apply to the inside as well?" Joker quietly asked devious grin on his face

"No pranks."

"Ah, What...? No fair. Just gotta kick the cripple when he's down."

"Er... call... Wrex, Garrus, and... Kaidan to the garage. We're going to need some heavy firepower."

"Ah, Okaaaaaay... On it. Want me to drop by Koorlus too?"

"Of course."

"See you."

"See ya Shepard."

 **CODEX:**

 **DNDD:** Dia Nucleic Degradation Disorder is a common disease among Terivians. It is often taken a liking to Cancer, and to most it would seem to be same. In simplistic terms, DNDD is caused by the gradual separation of groups. This often is necessary for the diversity that is found in most wildlife. One might ask "where the problems arise?" To elaborate, this takes thousands of years at minimum. As such there are periods in this where two different species are able to produce fertile offspring, but not stable offspring. These new Hybrids are still fertile, but will often die young due to their nigh incompatible to DNA. This usually takes form first, as a slight weakness, followed by Nausea, and then signs of rapid aging in living cells. First to show these are the Hair. Which turns white due to the inability to produce the hormones required to produce it's natural color. Both Men and Women become infertile and start to show prominent wrinkling. Bones degrade and the heart wears out. Usually killing the Victim within 2-3 years. If the patient is kept alive with implants, this can be extended to up to on average 7 years with the longest survivor surviving 9 years after his diagnosis. The patient eventually dies of rapidly growing Cancerous growths surrounding the Liver, Genitalia, Skin, Lungs, and Heart. No known cure for this disease has been found.

 **New Haven Laboratories:** New Haven Laboratories is a small private set of Labs dedicated to Alexander Smith by his father Joseph Smith for personal research, paid and stocked by the profits of Alexander's periodic inventions under the Smith n' Gold R&D division. New Haven Laboratories has been credited with the research and discovery of over 350 patents from the Translator Chip, to the In-Brew Coffee machine which became the most sold appliance in Tervian space as of 2503 with an auto brewing system that according to Smith n' Gold, "Produces the Perfect Brew every time!"


	3. For thousands of years I lay dormant(JK)

"System, you think you've got a handle on this?" Alex asked, clipboard in hand

"... I am 70% confident I've "got" this."

"That's kinda unsettling..."

"Well, we're working with sooooo many unknowns Sir. I can't be sure of anything."

Alex sighed before turning the knob and releasing the rabbit.

"So, I've got a hand on the cleanup knob. Do your thing."

Shortly after his words reached the receiver, System began to activate the Nanites. It was a slow tedious affair, but activating all at once could cause issues with System's ability to control them.

They needed to test how many he could actually control.

"I think I've topped out at... 88... no 89% control. The rest are still null."

"Interesting. Say, when was the last time I upgraded your hardware?"

"That would be 6 years ago."

"I'll have to fix that. Do ya have a birthday? Because you're about to have one." Alex said flippantly

"Sir, I don-"

"Nonsense, you shouldn't be even close to those primitive VI and yet they're catching up. You can't be in the history books if ya don't stand out~"

"Oh, right. I'm going to have to make a good impression on the debue of this cure." Alex said hopefully

He released the holding chamber and and the rabbit that emerged. Strangely, it's fur grew significantly darker than before. He figured that the nanites were just increasing the production of the chemicals that maintained hair color.

"What should we do now sir?" System asked

"Hmm... I don't know," Alex thought for a moment, "We should run some stress tests I guess."

"What kind of stress tests."

"Well, since these were designed to handle DNDD, I figure inducing mass cell breakdown should be a suitable test."

"Which chemical inducer would you like to use?"

"Diopetaphilmine I think. It usually causes errors in a cell's ability to replicate DNA repair right?"

"That would be correct Sir."

"Use it first. Then move to Diopeosoxaine. It should simulate stage 4 pretty quickly," he said before adding on, "I think I'm going to get some rest. I've been working myself thin for a while."

"Goodnight Sir, I should have the results by the morning. Also, don't forget to call your father tomorrow. It is his birthday then."

"Alright then. I won't forget."

* * *

Rochelle sighed as she paused.

This was interesting but it really wasn't grabbing at her. She really needed to see where things all shifted. It took one heavy thing to push a person in the path that this man had taken.

She needed to know what that was...

But sadly, something drew her attention.

It was a red flashing light.

"Ah, shit. Don't tell me the Voids on the move again!" She cried out in frustration

She would just have to come back to this later.

* * *

"So Joker, what are we looking at layout wise for this Cell?" Shepard asked entering the cockpit area

"Well, unlike the other bases, this shit is better fortified than my porn. And that's saying something. What I was able to gleam was pretty big though."

"And what's that?" She asked, folding her arms under her chest and blowing a strand of hair out of her face

"Well, it is Circular in nature and is mainly guarding a point in the center, which goes against all of our other designs we have seen in the past."

"Anything else?"

"Well, it seems that the base is heavily guarded and Had more weapons than a fleet of Turian cruisers. What ever Cerberus has in here, it must be REALLY big."

"Interesting, is there anything that could give the Normandy any trouble?"

"Nothing that could detect us, but were those AA Guns active, I might give it a good 90% effort..." He said cockily

"A bit arrogant, are we?"

"Arrogance implies that I can't do it." Joker fires back

"Well, just take us in. Whatever Cerberus has could prove useful against the Geth."

"Aye Aye." Joker said, flicking through a few haptic panels before a slight jerk pushed the passengers

"Also, call Garrus, Tali and Wrex. We're gonna have to be able to get through whatever they have."

"I'll get on that."

With that, Shepard strode through the CIC and slipped slyly down the familiar stairs. She made a sharp turn and entered the elevator. Since Garrus, Tali and Wrex were all in the Garage at the moment, it wouldn't be an issue to recall the elevator once they got back.

"Damm this thing is slow!" She shouted as the elevator crawled down

* * *

1 Hour later

"This is the drop point, though there were no enemies detected on the outside, I'd still be careful." Joker said over the comm

"Got it, Shepard out." She acknowledged

"You heard him. Just don't fire unless you're sure. These bastards love working on humans."

"Got it/Affirmative/Whatever you say." They all chimed in

Once they started their advance, it became clear that this place wasn't normal. It unsettled Shepard to say the least. The normally active turrets that would open fire on them were cut open. Men and women laid everywhere, large cuts, burns and even a few were frozen solid. It was if a Techie went crazy with their omnitool or something.

"Shepard, I don't know what did this... but they have to have some advanced tech at least. The Geth don't even have this stuff." Tali scratched in over the radio

"What do you mean?" The redhead asked

"The Ceramic in some of their armor has been vaporized. That required at least 20k Degrees for the average hardsuit. And as you imagine, it would melt off the user's arm trying to use an Incinerate like this. Whoever this is, they aren't using an omnitool to do this."

"Interesting..." Wrex said with a feral grin

"I wouldn't be so excited but I guess that works..." Garrus sighed out

"Can't blame me for wanting a good fight." Wrex defended

"Cut the chatter. We need to get moving." Shepard stopped the argument

As they continued, it didn't get any better. More impossible feats, and more disturbing imagery. She got that battle could be brutal, but was it really necessary to break every bone in a man's body?

She finally made it to the front door of the base. It was about 10x10, and well more than wide enough to fit a Mako. Maybe she should take it out for another spin sometime?

'Off Topic...' She chastised herself

Upon second glance, she discovered a small circular gap... well small in comparison.

It was about 12ft in diameter, and seemed to be melted through with the same tech that roasted the guards.

She stuck her head in, activating the flashlight on her weapon and sticking it in as well. It was dark to say the least, but after a few sweeps, she deemed it safe.

"It looks ok to move up. Stick close and follow me. We don't need to get caught off guard."

"Damm, I want to meet the guy who did this. He sounds like a great drinking buddy!" The elder Krogan chuckled out

The group sighed as they fit through the small gap in the door. It wasn't a surprise that Wrex would react like that, but it was still worth the sigh. Once they all got their bearings, they walked through the corridors. Each was of a similar standing. Bodies were strewn about like ragdolls. Blood coated the walls almost as if a tribute to the lives lost.

The bastards didn't deserve it, but still. Whoever this was is of a ritualistic nature. From quick glance, you could see no stealth was involved. They had a sense of honor? No that couldn't be possible. There was no honor in their sense of killing.

It was brutal.

But then again, not a single one lasted more than a few seconds according to the scanner. The figure wasn't sadistic... so what?

"Garrus, any insight in the mind of this guy? You used to be an investigator after all, any things you picked up?" Shepard asked

"I'd say... 6'4'', Deeply religious... They also have a sense of humor. From the method of the killing, they aren't sadistic, but seems to go by the human phrase: No kill like overkill."

"They have a sense of humor?"

"Almost every kill has a joke written in it."

"Huh, How?"

Garrus gestured to a body. It was just like the others, but this one was missing its lower half. It wasn't cut, but blown up. Upon closer examination, Shepard saw that the man was in fact carrying a bandolier full of empty grenade pouches.

"The killer, shoved the grenades into this guy mid battle. Kind of Ironic?" Garrus asked

"I see your point." Shepard said with a sigh

'Why do I always get the crazy ones?'

And, in spite of the disturbing setting, they set on.

The next room, only a single corridor from the center storage... sphere? She didn't know what to call it. Eh whatever... Anyway- She entered and found the controls for what appeared to be a Cryo System.

"Odd. They usually use these for real extreme prisoners." Wrex muttered out

"What do you mean?" Shepard queried

"In my years, I've only taken maybe 3 criminals down who had to be put on ice. Were talking about people often considered to be living weapons with no sense of law and order."

"Right up your alley, right?"

"I like risk Shepard, but I never said anything about suicide." Wrex grunted out to her surprise

"That bad?"

"The last one I took out took down 3 platoons of Turians and 6 Krogan. I learned not to joke about them... They're... beyond even Krogan."

"Even in BloodRage?"

"How do you think I survived?"

"That's... deep." Tali muttered in the back

Everyone turned to her.

Then turned back.

"So, don't wake this thing?" Shepard asked

"If not, prepare orbital bombardment."

Shepard turned away and flashed her hand across the console activating it with a flash of her Omnitool, opening the small door across the empty room. She cautiously entered to find a tall 7 foot figure typing across a panel with a speed that made turtles appear fast.

Shepard had heard of peckers but she'd never met a type that actually looked like they WERE pecking at the keys. A popup appeared across the console notifying the figure of their entrance... only for the console to be smashed in apparent frustration.

"Dammit, why does all of this shit have to be so complica-" The modulated voice cut off, glancing over it's shoulder

It's shoulders seemed to droop when to saw her crew.

"You want to capture or kill me right?" It asked... almost seeming hopeful

"Not necessarily, but if you don't stand away from the Cryo Pod, we're going to have to." Shepard said disarmingly

"You know what this is?" It asked dumbly

"You don't?" Wrex asked, completely caught off guard by it's stupidity

"I'm not exactly from around these parts. Where I'm from we don't have to go through such complicated stuff to freeze a guy solid."

"Who is this exactly?" Shepard asked, filing the figure's response for the future

"Oh, its just my buddy Alexander. Everybody calls him Alex though." It said with a slight pout, "I knew something was up after he didn't show up after 2 years of trying to fix his genera..tee? Ta? Er! That's it! It was his Generater!"

"Is this for real?" Tali asked "Or is this guy really that idiotic?"

"I don't know, but we can't let them thaw the guy in the pod."

"Oh, so you want to keep me from cracking open this pod. That sucks, but at least I get to have some fun!" It said, popping it's joints

"Dammit, open fire! We can't let that guy loose!" Shepard roared

"Tali, use Dampening. Garrus, use Overload. Wrex, I need you to get in close with me so we can hit it with our Carnages."

With wordless agreement, they commenced their plan.

The Dampening went off, slowing it's movements and the Overload caused it to briefly convulse. It recovered though and managed to knock the now in melee range Shepard's gun out from her hands and slamming her head first into the ground. It drew it's hand back to knock her out, but failed when a 1/2 ton Krogan slammed into it with a furious roar. The figure went tumbling landed back up on the floor.

The Adrenaline fueled Krogan, now using both His and Shepard's shotguns, aimed a dual Carnage shot point blank to it's face.

A large snap sounded as the supercharged guns broke the mighty Krogan's hands.

"Ouch." Shepard audibly winced at the Krogan's hands

"It was the only way I could think of to help you." The battlemaster groaned out in pain

"FUS ROH DAH!"

Everything became a blur as the tanks of the group were sent flying, Garrus actually catching Shepard, while Tali flat out held her life above catching the old Krogan. She weighed like... 110. There was no way in hell she was stopping THAT. With her free hands, she actually did something that the rest failed to do.

She stopped it.

Well... Stopped the armor anyway. Good thing it had motorized joints. With a simple gesture she hacked the behemoth rendering the giant immobile.

"I think I stopped it." She sighed out to a recovering Shepard

"Good Job... Tali... I... knew you had... it... in you..." Shepard choked out between gasps for air

That SERIOUSLY knocked the wind out of her... by the way...

"What in the literal FUCK was that, and how do I do it?" Shepard asked outloud

Everyone including the barely conscious Wrex sighed.

CRACK!

Everyone's heads (Excluding the figure) snapped to the pod, which held a nice deep crack through the center diagonally along its Cylindrical shape.

CRACK!

It cracked again, now removing what remained of the glass exposing the cold ice underneath. A hand shot through the cracked portion of the ice, barely reaching its fingers through. A second popped through mirroring the first.

CRACK!

The hands widened the crack to the shock of Shepard and her squad. This continued until the whole pod shattered throwing a long haired figure out of it. He, at first kneeled on the cold metal floor, before standing tall. He stretched out his shoulder before glancing at the 7 foot figure currently frozen by Tali's hack. He snapped and with a hiss, the armor released its wearer. which happened to also be a white haired woman of abnormally high stature for a woman. She was at least a good 6'4'' contrary to the man's 5'10'' stature.

"Thanks Alex! I never knew they could do stuff like that. I thought you said it couldn't be hacked n' stuff." the woman asked

"Just please don't make a habit of it alright? We've been working hard to get you to use that brain in your head, no need to get it blown out, right?"

"Sure thing! Now, how are we gonna deal with these guys? I wore them down, but I don't like using healing too often."

"You never were one for the arts... with the exception of your... shouting. You seem perfectly capable with that..."

"I know but still."

"Right, so... introductions are in order. I am known as Alex, this is Valera. I apologize for her rash actions, and I'm sure they weren't too morally ambiguous?"

"She killed well over 60 men, and while I have no love for Cerberus... some of these people weren't even armed..." Shepard said raising her weapon to emphasize her point

"I see." Alex frowned out

"Uh... that's it? Just a frown?"

"Valera, while you are a close friend and compatriot... I cannot stand by under such conditions. If I see it again, I will purge you from this universe."

"Shit, I've never seen you so serious before..." Valera stated

"That should be obvious. These weren't raiders or bandits. They only were meant to maintain my stasis. That is akin to murder. Do it again, and you will have no soul to return to sovngarde."

"Wait, you got that dow-?"

"Yes." and in a flash of light, a revolver appeared in his right hand

Said revolver was pitch black with red streaming throughout it that seemed to pulse as if it were alive. In it held a drum that was oddly round for a vintage looking revolver. With a flick of drum release, he pulled the drum to the side of the revolver as if to reload, causing everybody to tense. Instead, Alex pulled a black crystal that glowed purple at its core.

"Say hello to Terivian Law Mk2." He stated with a dry smile

* * *

11th of Jeiz 2505

"So, you 've got the Nanites down?"

"It appears so sir. With the link you provided to your knowledge on building them and programming them, I was finally able to adapt them to accept my influence."

"Great, soon we'll be onto the testing ph... whew got dizzy for a second... anyway, we'll be onto human testing."

"Sir are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry System. I just got a bit light headed. Probably what I had for lunch."

"I will make sure to check on the food production plants in the facility to ensure that they are in functioning order."

"You do that... I think I'm going to take a nap."

"Shall I set an alarm for 2 hours?"

"Yeah, you do that..." Alex mumbled out

Alex made his way through the corridors of his facility. This facility, the one made from his own mind's designs... It felt good. While he has never had much connection to his father, this is one thing he was truly grateful for. He was grateful for this at least. The man had never earned Alexander's Love or Trust, but he had earned his respect.

He glanced at his quarters, which he just arrived at with a tired smile. A nap would make this all better.

4 hours later

"S...- Si-... Sir?!" awoke Alexander from his nap

"Sir, are you alright? I have been trying to wake you for the past 2 hours."

"Huh? I slept 4 hours? Man, I was more worn out than I thought..."

"Sir, we also have another problem."

"What's that?" Alex asked groggily, rubbing his eyes

"Your father has been waiting for the past 25 minutes."

"Can't you keep him out?" He asked

"I've been trying, but your father seems to be far more adept at cracking my security than you are in making it. I am currently working at a 20% overclock to keep him out."

"W-What? How?"

"He seems to either have an AI accompanying him or a machine that is 4x faster than my total logical cores."

"What's the firewall at right now?"

"43% and dropping. 42% now."

"Tell him I'll meet with him, just tell him to call off the hack."

"Thank you Sir." System said in an almost strained voice

A few seconds later...

"Hacking attempt stopped. Adaptive Matrix Protocol activated... ... ...Firewall defense protocols now 40% more efficient."

"Good, tell him to meet me at my louge. Lie and saw that I had an experiment that is taking extra time to clean off and that you were not to disturb me during the process under my orders. That should satiate his inquiries..."

"Well thought Sir."

"Let's go see the bastard. I wonder what shitshow he wants me to fix now?" Alex scoffed out

* * *

(A/N)

Well, that's chapter 3.

I just wanted to get a few things out of the way first.

This will have character and elements from things like Anime and Manga as well as maybe some TV shows. What you did see was definitely from Skyrim and I plan on exploring the nature of a lot of magics from a more scientific nature. Paradox, I know."

Alexander in his youth before the events of mass effect will be explored in separate chapters. Or included as more of a transition between scenes. That way, I can get ya wondering while still revealing Alex's past.

Shepard and the crew will have their uses and won't be overshadowed by Oc's that I bring in anymore than my main character's will. In other words, there will be times when Shepard really shines as a character in ways that no other could. A good example of this is Tali hacking Valera's suit. If not for Alex, Valera would have lost.

There will not be any Mary Sue or Larry Stu in this. Alexander, while powerful and intelligent, has his major flaws. Some will be emotional others a matter of his differing physiology to Humans. I have plans for villains that Alexander has no chance in hell of defeating in the future that require the help of Shepard, Tali, Garrus, Wrex, Kaiden, and Ashley even.

With only one last thing to announce, I'll get this over with:

I will explain a good majority of the concepts of this series in a series of Codex. These will include non spoiling character Bios and motivations, Tech explanations, magical explanations, and cultural explanations. It will also provide a scale (1/10) for each character I bring in. Here's the first bit:

Alexander Smith

Intelligence: 9.5/10

Physical Strength: 5/10

Magical Strength: 8/10

Charisma: 3/10

Technological Strength: 8.5/10

Experience/Skill: 9/10

Valera Jinsin

Intelligence: 3/10

Physical Strength: 9.5/10

Magical Strength: 5/10

Charisma: 6.5/10

Technological Strength: 2/10

Experience/Skill: 7/10

Commander Jasmine Shepard (N7)

Intelligence: 7/10

Physical Strength: 8/10

Magical Strength: 0/10

Charisma: 10/10

Technological Strength: 6/10

Experience/Skill: 8.5/10

Garrus Vakarian

Intelligence: 8/10

Physical Strength: 8/10

Magical Strength: 0/10

Charisma: 7/10

Technological Strength: 8/10

Experience/Skill: 7/10

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya

Intelligence: 9/10

Physical Strength: 4.5/10

Magical Strength: 0/10

Charisma: 6/10

Technological Strength: 10/10

Experience/Skill: 3/10

Urdnot Wrex

Intelligence: 7/10

Physical Strength: 9/10

Magical Strength: 0/10

Charisma: 8/10 (Intimidation)

Technological Strength: 4/10

Experience/Skill: 10/10

System (A.I.)

Intelligence: 20/10

Physical Strength: 0/10

Magical Strength: 0/10

Charisma: 8/10 (Manipulation)

Technological Strength: 20/10

Experience/Skill: 8.5/10 (In his field)


	4. More Backstory

"So, _father_ what brings you to New Haven?" Alexander asked in a formal tone

His father sat in the lounge for a moment, bringing his feet up leaning back. The 46 year old was surprisingly young looking in his later years and only appeared to be in his early to mid thirties. His hair was held back by an elastic band, which he tugged slightly before speaking.

"I was a bit curious as to what you are up to. As of late you've been increasingly recluse. That combined with your... _overzealous_ security leads me to believe you've got a new breakthrough coming in... something that you'd like to keep hidden..."

Alex sighed out before stretching and taking a seat as well.

"These are my private studies and I would prefer not to reveal my secret until it is a more appropriate time."

"Oh, hiding from your old pops?"

"While I am grateful for the opportunity that you have given me with this facility, I have paid for it in full. I have no reason to share anything with you... especially when you left my mother at the worst possible time."

"I had my reas-"

"No, you did not. As one of the richest men in this quadrant, you could afford the best in medical supplies... even cybernetics... the same ones that could have extended my mother's life. You have no Trust or respect from me."

"Then why do you call me father?"

"Obligation." Alex said tersely

"Oh, I see now... holding a grudge?" his father smirked out

"Leave before I call the bots for you to leave." Alex gritted out

"I can just hack them, you know that right?"

"They have no wireless reception. You cannot hack them. Leave before my patience wears too thin." Alexander ground out

"Fine fine... I know when I'm beat..." His father stated, hands raised

Alex watched as his father stepped out of the lounge and left. Just before he heard the door close, one word rang deft as a whisper.

"Bastard."

With shaking fists, Alex left the lounge. He made it a few feet into the hall until wet crack echoed through the white halls of the facility. Blood painted the wall to Alex's right as the metal dented in slightly. Alex looked to realize the mangled state of his hand.

"Shit." Alex sighed out

It was at this moment, a path lit up on the floor. The green strips leading to what Alex knew to be the Med Bay of his facility. He smiled at one of the nearby cameras and dipped his head in thanks before verbalizing it.

"Thanks System. Don't know what'd I do without you..."

"It is of no issue Sir. Though if I may, I do have a request."

"Oh, let's hear it then." Alex stated with a curious but dry smirk

After a few moments, he reached the med bay and as the door slid open, System made his request known.

"You should take a day or two off. You have been overworking yourself."

"A day off? That actually sounds kinda nice..."

"It would reduce Cortisol levels by 43%"

"I'm that wired? Damm..."

"What do you think I should do?"

"There is a local park with a staggering number Skwinks (Ss-Kuh-Winks) in its pond. From my memory banks, you did mention enjoy watching them in your early years."

"Huh... good idea."

"Shall I prep the Air Car?"

"Yeah... give me another 5 minutes and I'll be ready."

True to word, 5 minutes later the machine finished applying the Carbon bone grafts that were commonly used to treat broken bones. With a sigh of relief, Alex jumped down from the surprisingly high medical table.

He cracked his neck and set course to his room to get changed. A lab coat wasn't something that he'd like to wear in public. It was comfortable sure, but it was often met with people understanding his identity. Being son to one of the richest men in the quadrant was a part of that sure... but he would have been written off completely had he married earlier. It was always a strange thing for a Terivian to marry late. He was one of the 3 or so percent that had not married before 20. He just never found a person tolerable in that sense to spend any extended length with.

Once he was in his room he changed into a pair of dark khakis and a polo collared shirt. Considering the chilly weather outside, he gathered a Scarf and a thin Leather Jacket. It would pass in the weather. Once he made sure he had no wardrobe mishaps, he gathered a small loaf of bread for the Skwinks.

Once done, he entered his Air Car, A Model A-4 Type C-7649, a simple and reliable car.

"System, got that Nav Point clocked in?"

"Yes Sir, it should be approximately 4 minutes until you reach your destination."

"Good."

With that, Alex was left to his thoughts. He breifly thought back to his father, a man that he sorely disliked on the deepest levels. It wasn't surprising really. He'd lost his mother several years early to DNDD because of his father's reluctance to believe Alex's legitimacy. His mother always held a soft place in his heart. Each memory of her brought an inward smile. Simple things like her teaching him to cook to her trying but failing miserably to help him with his inventing bug as a child. He missed her. His father spit in the wounds of her death by labeling her nothing but a simple whore. It infuriated Alex to no end, but he made due. He was going to destroy his father's business with one simple invention: His Medical Application Z-1 Nano-Machines. Those bugger could heal just about anything you could think of nigh instantly, fortified muscle strength, increased the efficiency of the metabolic process by several order of a magnitude, and stored Genetic Code as a backup that the body could use in the production of new cells. It easily countered DNDD, but there was two simple flaws.

These machines required at least 4 VIs or 1 AI to control it. It was a problem he was working on, but the next one was even more of an issue.

"Power..." He mumbled to himself

How? How could he power them?

Currently it took about 12 Amp Hours of ambient current to charge them as they went so it begged the question. What would be the power source?

Fission?

Fusion?

No... both required ridiculous shielding to prevent irradiation...

Thermal?

No, not enough energy to spare...

Wait, what about his micro ZPG?

It drew energy from the basic atomic forces, so he wouldn't foreseeably run out of energy. That combined with the fact that it would require next to no shielding.

"You have reached your destination sir." System jarred him from his thoughts

"Thank you. Also, could you prime project ZPG? I need to get that generator running."

"Of course sir. May I ask why though?"

"I'm thinking it would be a good way to power the Nanites."

"You were planning on using it with air?"

"Yes, it wouldn't take much either... a thousandth or a millionth of a gram, something like that..."

"True sir, it would only take 1/1,000,000,000 of a gram of oxygen to power the device at regular capacity."

"Even better."

With that, Alex exited the car and began his walk through the park. It was a familiar one that he had donated to several times to keep it running. It did after all hold several of his fondest memories.

But it wasn't the time to think of that. It was time to clear his head and relax.

*Squa-EEEEE* sounded nearby

"Huh, the skwinks are pretty active today..." Alex said shoving his hands in his pockets

He continued his walk in solitude for the most part. Occasionally, he'd see a few people but it wasn't a common occurrence. He slipped the mini loaf of bread into his hands and veered towards a particularly large group of skwinks. All of the small bird like figures jumped on their reptilian feet, wings spreading in a threatening manner. This was until they saw the bread... they instantly turned tame at the sight of their delicacy.

Alex teasingly opened the package while taking a seat at a small bench. He tore a peice of bread and tossed it to the tailing group he had gathered. He smiled as he watched them peck at the bread.

It was nice to just relax.

When was the last time he'd ever done that before?

 **A/N**

Now, while that was a short chapter, I really couldn't add more to it without it just being dead weight. I hope a little insight to my OC's life will help explain some of the... mannerisms he has and help their development.

Also, as I promised, I will be giving you a larger set of codex and Really extending into my created universe.

 **Codex:**

Terivian: Terivians (Tere-Iv-Ian) are a section of one of the 3 races that are inside the Tristenn (Try- Sten) Alliance. These three races used to be one, but through time and segregation due to galactic conflicts, they developed in seperate ways. This makes reproduction between the three races possible but dangerous. One of these dangers is known as DNDD. Terivians are renowned thinkers and philosophers, and are deeply tied to their emotions. They make excellent writers and painter usually and tend to stick to what they find most interesting at the moment.

Vexrian: Vexrian (Veh-Kss-Ree-Ann) are known for their usually cold and analytical nature. They are quick thinkers and brilliant strategists. They also rank highly as diplomats due to their manipulative nature. These men and women usually fulfill scientific roles due to their ability to disregard emotions, thus making testing often more accurate. They are also clever programmers and electricians.

Bracius: Bracius (Brass-Ee-Us) are amazing in anything applying to the physical arts. If it requires concrete thinking and a strong hand, you turn to a Bracius. They tend to be simplistic and not very vocal, but enjoy working with their hands in any scenario. They are often found in Construction, Manufacturing, Cleanup, Mining, and oddly enough sculpting.

Cascade Era: This is the era where the now three races separated. This 60,000 year period where only rumors of the other races exited and the Tristenn Alliance was unformed.

Skwinks: Skwinks (Ss-Kuh-Winks) are small reptile like birds covered in fuzzy feathers. These birds are often territorial, but males tend to be more so. Males are identified by the large plume on their chest and atop their heads. Their wingspan averages at 3.5 feet.

Nanites: Medical Application Z-1 Nanomachines are approximately 4 Nanometers across and are capable of little on their own. They traditionally are made of a composite of silicon and carbon which allow them to carry out almost any task imaginable. This is why they require a massive source of processing power. Powering the devices without an ambient EMF of 12 Amp Hours is under way.

ZPG: Zero Point Generator as is is fully called is an experimental generator that pulled power from the base energy contained within all matter. Be it the Strong Nuclear force, the Weak Nuclear force or the Coolum force, the ZPG can slowly take the energy that is held within matter to produce energy similarly to Fission or Fusion, but with all uncaptured energy remaining within the fuel. In simplistic terms, it uses all matter as a battery in which it pulls energy from while Fission lights the battery on fire to produce energy and Fusion crushes it to ignite it.

Rochelle: Rochelle is a God in most senses of the word. She is all powerful within her domain. She created Atherion to help add randomness into her creations. Without this her creations would be essentially statues without life. Void is the absence of Atherion, deliberate or otherwise. It removes all chance from a scenario.


	5. What an arm means to a man

"You're a new face around here..." Alex heard to his side

"Just dropping by for a few days. Taking a break from work."Alex said tossing bread to the Skwinks without looking to his side

"What kinda work? It isn't common for a Terivian to be lacking on conviction..." She asked

"If only you knew..."

"Oh? Why would you be on Terran if you weren't Terivian?"

"I could say the same to you. A bit curious for a Bracious."

"Touche."

"What piqued your curiosity? Bracious are rarely curious."

"You seem to be built on sand. You seem unstable."

"Interesting Parallel."

"How so?"

"You compare me to a building, yet people are rarely so sturdy. They tend to sway in the wind like trees."

"True, but a tree is rarely uprooted."

"I concede on that. Wanna take a seat? It'd be rude to keep a lady standing after all."

"Don't mind if I do." She said with a chuckle in her voice

Alex only now glanced at her, taking in her features breifly before turning back to the Skwinks. She had flowing white hair, loose in the front, and tied in the back. She wore casual Bracious dress which usually consisted of clothing that was tight at the midsection but loose at the extremities. It was an interesting contrast to his more uniform wear. It was more Traditional of Terivian wear, but held some elements of the other races in it's design.

Back to the woman's complexion, she had thin eyebrows and small lips, an unusual trait for Bracious. Her eyes were a Neon Greenish color with flakes of Neon Orange, a common trait among Bracious. Her jaw was slightly lower set than most women but not overly so. Overall, she was nothing too out of the ordinary. Simple flaws in her complexion were existent but mostly unnoticeable.

"So, do you always approach strangers like this?"

"Only for the Bastard of The Smiths..."

"Joy, come to ridicule me as my peers do?" Alex sighed out

"No, on the contrary. We Bracious admire strong will and hard work. You made a strong name for yourself despite your standing."

"That's why I changed out of my lab coat."

"Tired of the 'Who will lower themselves to marry the Bastard child' articles?"

"You could say that. I would rather not get caught up in that mess."

"Seems Logical... not something you Terivians are known for."

"Let's keep that a secret..." Alex shushed coyly

"So, what's the genius of New Haven going to cook up this time?"

"It's secret."

"Must be important for you not to announce it at the Tech convention a few weeks ago like usual.

"You seem oddly interested in tech for a Bracious..."

"Caught me red handed." She said in mock surrender before leaning in with a distinctly Bracious grin, "It's a guilty pleasure."

"Everybody's got their secrets... I'm logical, you like Tech."

"Any plans for tonight?"

"Nope. Taking a rest on my... VI's recommendation."

"Too stressed?"

"Yep."

"I don't remember VIs being concerned for people's health."

"It was a medical VI." Alex lied before giving another chunk of bread to the Skwinks

"I see."

"Actually..." Alex said turning to the woman, "I just realized my disadvantage, you know my name but I do not know yours..."

"Lizzana, Lizzana Bross." She chucked out

* * *

"You Ok Alex?" Valera asked

"... Urg... yeah I'm fine. Just got a memory... an old one."

"Another?"

"Yes, they've been popping up ever since Cerberus got involved on Shanix..."

"Damm, that's like the third since you got off of the planet."

"7th one I've had so far." Alex said turning his head to the door to the private room he was given temporarily until his medical checkup aboard the Normandy as the one who called herself 'Shepard' stated.

"I will see you now, I've gotten everything ready." and elderly woman with slight wrinkling and greying hair

"Yes ma'am." Alex said casually, but with a slight hint of respect

You always respect the guy who may be be poking your insides one day.

Alex stood and followed the kind doctor to the med bay. He sat on a bed as she gestured for him to do so and she lifted her arm and allowed an orange device to cross over his body, emitting a low hum as it did so. Alex guessed it was something similar to the wrist pad he used and figured it was a low density scan.

"I'm getting some strange readings... electromagnetic interference... could you follow me?" The elderly woman asked heading over to machine that was built into the wall

Alex complied wordlessly. Once he got there, the doctor activated something on her... thing and a larger scanner folded out from the wall and surrounded Alexander. He glanced curiously at the device. It was primitive compared to what he was born with bt a surprising advancement since before his period in Cryo.

"This is a more powerful scanner that should cut through the interference I'm getting."

"I'm taking this doesn't happen often..."

"We normally only have to use these on armored personel and strong Biotics."

"I can tell ya I'm not biotic... well... at least at the moment..."

"Yes, that is correct from what the scanner it telling me. Though you do show deposits of heavy metals scattered evenly through your body. How is that possible? Not even the Krogan have this much..."

"It not something you should worry about. I've had it for oh... 13 years? That's if you exclude the Cryo..."

"Yes, and your metabolic rate seems to be 43% slower than normal. Something that should be killing you right now."

"Another thing not to worry about. Here, these are my normal medical profiles. This should be what my numbers are on a good day." Alex said hacking over the documents to her... Tool... that's what he'll call them

"How did you- *Sigh* Let's just see these numbers." She spoke

Alex waited patiently as she reviewed the numbers. During this, his mind went back to a conflict he had on Shanix.

* * *

Alex frowned he guided civilians away from a new orbital bombardment zone. These Turians were really fond of that technique. While Alexander had no qualms against it... this was slightly overkill. He had dealt with several in his time among the Terivian Special Forces, but usually one or two ended a conflict quickly. This was the 12th time these Aliens had performed it.

Cerberus was a big help in getting intel on the locations of the next strikes for a while, but they ceased to be useful once they became... crazy? No, they had order to their chaos. They seemed to be Zealots... but it wasn't to their fellow humans like they spouted. It was strange.

Alex left his thoughts, as he heard a gaseous hiss echo throughout the parking garage. Not a moment too soon because he had just evacuated the last civilian. Alex stood tall, getting into his form.

Alex dropped his arms to his waist and held them out. He dipped his head and bent his knees. His sensor array in his suit flared up and the last remnants of System's code sprung into action.

After a few moments, he spun around and brought his right arm up. blocking a HVB that Cerberus' special forces used religiously. It was a primitive weapon but accomplished a similar goal to that of the plasma edged blades he was used to in his service but alas, he was that unlucky to see such clever design.

"You are an abomination to Humanity." The zealot hissed

"I ain't even human." Alex ground out

"You appear to be what you are not. You mock your better."

"If your better... then why haven't you guys killed me yet?" Alex chuckled out.

"Our Queen demands you alive Swine!" It scoffed

"Queen, that's a new one... Tell me, have you seen her?"

"Your pathetic exitance couldn't comprehend her glory!"

"ENOUGH! STAND DOWN!" A voice boomed from the shadows

"But Cheru-"

"I said STAND DOWN." it boomed again

"Yes sir..." The female zealot said with sorrow

"You know it is rude to not introduce yourself..." Alex said glancing casually around the room

"Yes, I would like to apologise for my... apprentice's actions. I thought she would be better at reining in her... enthusiasm. But it seems I still have work to do." The man said revealing himself

He war a heavy suit of armor that was on odd mix of the technology of this universe and seemed to have elements of something that seemed familiar to Alexander. He'd seen it somewhere before... just where? It was strange by most means in the fact that Alex could sense a massive quantity of Atherion condensed in the glowing sphere that was contained in his chestplate.

"You use Atherion." Alex pointed out

"Yes, I do, as does my student to a degree."

"If she could barely use it then how did you expect her to beat me?"

"I could kill you wi-"

"What did I say?" the man cut off, "We have noticed that you have been holding back your usage of Atherion, we hoped to catch you by surprise."

"Interesting tactic. Planning to use the bombardment as a coverup for the case if I did use it."

"Quite an apt reason. Would you disagree?"

"Nope, it's a great plan... You are here to ensure my death if things go south."

"Correct. Shall we begin?"

"If ya want to."

The Zealot smirked as both men got into stance. This abomination would be destroyed and the Queen would be happy with her and her mentor. Her smirk quickly died as she saw the abomination block her mentor's first hit and counter. While she had never seen her mentor go this hard on an opponent, she figured he had to be holding back... he had to be.

After a moment of rest, both clashed again. Her mentor clashing with Alexander and attempting to take advantage of a flaw in Alex's technique. The mentor guided his fist to Alexander's left, but was miraculously met with a hand batting her master's away. It was then that she grew worried. Alex landed a strong palm strike to her mentor's chin, stunning and priming him for massive chest strike that cracked her master's armor and sent him doubled over. In a flash of light, a blast echoed from Alex's hand. It sent her exposed ponytail whipping in the wind and her master flying into some rubble.

"You're good, but I've faced opponents that have a much greater mastery over Atherion." He said as a small singularity appeared in his hand, "You only know the destructive applications of it. Do you?"

The abomination threw his hand out and in a swirl of purple a being composed of fire and brimstone appeared next to him. She could feel the heat from here. He mimicked the action with his left and a being composed of an orangish sand like material appeared in the same manner.

"You disgust me. I found Atherion to better understand the world around me. You only use it to destroy it."

The man crossed his arms and glanced at her. Take her out. Maybe that will teach the man to not disgrace the capabilities of Atherion.

* * *

Alex sighed as he thought about his actions that day. He needed to hold back more. These people had only known of Atherion because of his involvement. They were like children playing with fire, Alex had given them it. Not on purpose, but he had done so.

"I see, your numbers while strange... seem to like up with your current heath. Though your metabolism is still 4.5% slower than usual... that is within the margin of error though."

"Thanks. I'm free to go?"

"Yes, though I would recommend speaking with The Commander. She seems concerned with your friend."

"Alright then." He said slipping out of the scanner and out of the med bay.

He exited to a cafeteria of sorts. It fitted the description of a mess hall than cafeteria the more he thought about it. He saw an average looking man with black hair manning the kitchen(-ete?) and decided that he could help guide him to The Commander.

"Would you happen to know where 'Shepard' is?"He asked, still not used to calling others by their last name

"Yeah, she should be on deck three talking with Garru- Oh wait, forgot you probably don't know our names..." the man said slightly bumbling throughout, "I'm Kaiden, You know The Commander, Garrus is the Turian, Tali is the one who hacked your friend's suit if I remember, Wrex is the Krogan, Ashley be around Garrus. She's in the pink armor."

"Good, now I know the whole lineup..."Alex said sarcastically before continuing, "I'll see you later Kaiden..."

With that, Alex walked off leaving a confused Kaiden.

"I hate it when people just spout exposition at me. I asked where this commander was, not for the names of everybody and their grandparents..."Alex mumbled out

He hated when people did that. These humans seemed more fond of it than any other group he'd ever met. Even the Turians he tortured weren't this vocal with info.

He cracked his neck in frustration before thinking.

'Man my emotions have been all over the place lately... I guess it's coming sooner than I think...'

He stopped and held his hand over his heart. The slow but steady 45 Bpm causing him to worry. He usually maintained 25. That was the common Bpm for a Vexrian, which his heart followed religiously. He sighed, but continued to the Garage that took moments to find... and ages to get to. It took him a minute flat to discover how to get to the garage, but the elevator was brutally slow...

He nearly cried with joy when those doors opened.

Wow.

He seriously needed to get himself a checkup.

He glanced through the Garage to find 5 people occupying it.

He ignored the rest in favor of speaking with Shepard. It was the reason he was here though.

"Shepard!" He called out over the large space

She turned her head from the Turian and seemed surprised by his appearance.

"Alex, You got released that early?" She said, just under a shout as she approached

"She couldn't say much as she doesn't have much detail about my unique biology."

"Yeah, I was going over the Vi's decon readings and you aren't kidding about that." She agreed

"Yes, it has saved my live a few times before..."

"So, what are you? I seem to pick up people from the strangest places... what's your story?"

"You expect me to tell you?"

"It's better than the alternative." She shrugged

"The usage of force is highly inadvisable against me. I am a savant with tech. We are aboard a ship full of it. This is my playground." He grinned out

"Oh, I had no intention. I don't torture people I plan to recruit. I do however analyse them." She said shifting her weight and matching his cold gaze

"I'd like to see you try. Get one thing right and I'll join you. Get it wrong and I will be taking my leave at the nearest port."

"Okay... seems fair. I wouldn't be a good commander if I couldn't read my troops." She sighs out before scrunching her brow and looking at him, "You aren't a soldier at heart, but you were forced into it. You have issues with family and you are a long way away from home. You have no method back either."

Alex stood rigid, his normally flat expression wide with shock. She had read him like an open book. How? This didn't seem right.

"What gave it away?"

"Your friend." She snorted out

Of course. There is no way she could have read him through his guise. His thoughts were still unreadable.

"I'm sorry for your loss." She stated

"What?" He asked confused

"You lost a daughter. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Did Valera blab everything to you?!"

"Nope, got that one from your hands."

"My hands?" He asked confused

His hands were normal hands. Nothing different about them other than the metal left arm he had.

"You repeatedly filed down the metal on the fingertips. It is a sign that you frequently touch something soft and fragile. Something precious. It's common in Alliance marines with daughters. Fathers always see their girls as soft. Just as Mothers do with their sons."

"All that from my hands..."He stated softly

"People do almost everything with their hands. They tell you everything about who they are."

"Thanks Commander. I'm looking forward to helping you on your mission." Alex promised quietly

"Glad to have you on board." She replied with a smile, slipping her hand off of his shoulder

When did she even put it there?

* * *

Alex had enjoyed his trips to the park. He was always met with the smiling face of Lizzana at that same bench. It became a stress relieving pass time until.

This day was just like any other. He was chatting and enjoying himself when a crackle hissed in his ear. It was enough to draw his attention and make him wince.

"*Crackle* S-Sir. Your re-re-required at th*ZZZZZZTTTTT* lab. It appears there is a *CHISSSSSSSSS*-re and fire suppression isn't working. The NAnITes are currently protecting me, but they cannot protect ThE whole ARRaY."

"System? System?!" He shouted turning to Lizzana who seemed worried, "I gotta get back. My whole lab is going up in flames!"

He didn't even wait for her response, and darted towards his aircar. He forewent the seat belt and gunned it. If things got too out of hand, who knows what could happen to the Nanites? He made the 15 minute trip in under 3 as he sped well past the speed limit. He jammed the throttle until it started to give and he slowed.

"No... NO COME ON. NOT NOW!" He roared as he rewired around the shorts in the system while driving

Once his destination came into view he sighed in relief and slammed on the brakes. They slowed his speed, but at this rate he'd still crash. He overcharged the Boson core to maximum as he felt the Vehicle slow rapidly, almost slamming his face into the controls.

Upon releasing the core, his face did hit though. His nose broke and he cracked right above his left brow. It was likely to scar, but he didn't care. He had to get the Nanites and System out of there otherwise he could end up in deep shit.

He slammed open the door to the car before rushing past the firefighters.

"Use class 14 repellant! It should counteract any chemicals!" He advised them before rushing in and entering the main lobby

It was in shambles. The nice furniture was all in flames and molten metal was pooling from broken plasma conduits. He slammed through the glass door leading to the rest of the lab with his left arm and entered.

He made a straight path to the AI core and once he entered he was me with a roar of flames hotter and more developed than anywhere else in the entire facility. Someone had specifically targeted System...

He reached for System's storage core, the very essence of his being. He was sent hissing as the hot metal scored his hand.

"Dammit!"

He reached for it again before a loud shearing noise spoke over the flames. He felt numb, and the entire left of his vision was met with a blinding light. As he backed away on his hands he realised that he wasn't being supported by his left. He glanced over and finally realized why he felt so numb. Were his left arm was was a simple stump. It cut off mid Bicep. Thankfully though, it was cauterized from the heat of the metal that wounded him in the first place.

"System?! Are you there?!" He yelled over the flames

No response.

Alex grunted as he reached around the burning hot metal and pulled out the hot AI storage core. It was the size of a coin but held so much. It sizzled his skin but he didn't notice it. Thankfully he had adrenaline on his side.

He rushed out of the room and made way for the exit when he heard his worst nightmare.

"PROJECT 18 CONTAINMENT BREACH!" The secondary VI spouted cheerily

"No... NOT NOW!" He screamed he turned back and headed for the testing section

He needed to shut down project 18. It might kill him, but if it were to get loose... he mentally trailed off from there. He didn't have time to think.

He slammed on the fission key for complete disposeure of project 18, and bolted for project 20. It was the mostly completed version of the Nanites. It was his only hope.

"God I hope we survive this." he tiredly muttered out though the smoke

* * *

A/N

Well, there we go.

We got a bit of everything in this chap. Tell me what you guys think.

I will say that I'm happy that I got out 3.5k this time.

Any suggestions on story pacing?

Should I switch between backstory and current mid chapter or have them in separate chapters?

Let me know!

Peace.


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